A New Circle
by Lilly Emerald
Summary: Cassie has everything she could have dreamed of, she is leader of the Secret Circle and has Adam as her soul mate. But something or someone wants revenge on her, can the coven figure out what is happening before they are broken forever? C/A, Diana/Nick
1. Just The Begining

A New Circle

Summary: Cassie has everything she could ever have dreamed of. She is leader of the coven and has Adam as her prince charming. Someone or something wants revenge. Can Cassie and the Secret Circle figure out what is going on before they are broken forever?

Pairings: Adam/Cassie, Diana/Nick

I don't own anything, just having some fun. It would be good to know if people like this story, so pretty please let me know in a review, I love reviews! Spoiler alert, just so you know, I won't be killing off Nick like they did in the stupid TV series! Am really wondering if I should keep watching it or not, part of me wants to cos I don't like giving up on things, but they are changing it too much in ways I don't like. Vampire Diaries changed in a good way, this show it is a bad way. Maybe you can help me decide if I should watch it or not?

Chapter One

Just The beginning

Cassie Blake looked in the mirror at her reflection and smiled in satisfaction, running the brush one more time through her light brown hair. She had straightened it especially for the occasion and she was getting better at applying her make up in the way that Suzan had taught her, to make her look more mysterious and adult, more like a witch. She wore Leggings and a dark blue jumper dress that clung to her curves. All in all she felt care free and just over all happy.

It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in a very long time, maybe she had never felt this way. She had spent the last year fighting with Black John and feeling weak and afraid. She had let herself be manipulated by Faye and had been too afraid to make her own decisions, but no more. This was the new and improved Cassie, who was stronger than she had ever been before. She sprayed a bit of rose perfume on her, not too much, just a subtle hint and finally thought she was ready to face the world. And what a world she belonged to.

As she hurried down the stairs, her heart beat started to race and she felt the familiar butterflies in her stomach that she hoped would never go away. Adam was waiting in the kitchen, sitting at the table talking with her mother. His dog Raj was sitting patiently at his side. She hesitated before entering her favourite room in the house, the kitchen, watching the scene with a smile on her face. It was all so perfect, like a fairytale or a dream. She felt like Cinderella and here was her prince charming. He was hers now, and they didn't have to live in the fear of betraying Diana or hurting her or anything else, there were no more secrets and it felt wonderful. Diana had accepted that they were soul mates and there was nothing anybody could do except to accept things, because they were connected by a silver cord that couldn't be broken. Adam looked up as if he sensed she was there and he probably had sensed her, she thought. He had been able to read her mind or thoughts when they first met so long ago. She had thought it wasn't fair the way people were treating him and he had told her that life wasn't fair. She couldn't imagine her life without him now, because he completed her.

"Hey Cassie," he smiled warmly at her and stood up to give her a hug. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as ever," her eyes sparkled back at him and she took his hand in hers, the feel of his fingers entwined with hers was still unfamiliar and taking time to get used to, but it was a good getting used to, not like the dread she had felt at having to get used to a whole new life and a new school and finding a place for herself again. But she had a place she belonged now. It had been decided that she was the leader of the coven, along with Diana and Faye. She still could barely believe it was true, that all of her dreams were coming true. She had been described as a shy unicorn by her friends, and now she was leader of the witches. She felt like laughing out loud at it all. "Is everyone there already?" she was worried now that she had made everyone wait.

"Near enough, but don't worry though. Suzan isn't ready yet either."

"I can imagine. I think Raj is getting impatient."

She was suddenly aware of eyes on them and turned to her mother apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. Thanks for entertaining Adam while he was waiting."

"It's the least I can do," her mother laughed. "After everything the Circle has done for us, that whole Black John nightmare..." Her mother was speaking light heartedly but Cassie could see the pain in her eyes. After all, Black John had been Cassie's father and he had hurt her mother so much, not by killing her as he had killed others, but by using the power of love against her.

Cassie was still grieving for the loss of her grandmother. She had been a lady that you wouldn't ever forget, with all her wisdom and guidance. Cassie felt she hadn't had a chance to be able to learn everything from her grandmother, by the time she had found out she was a witch, there hadn't been much time for stories. But before she had died, her grandmother had told her the most important story of all, about how the parents of the coven had died. It made her sad that she couldn't hear anymore stories, happier ones. Her grandmother had a way with words, a way to help visualise everything perfectly, even so near death. She had been strong up until the last minute and that was what had changed Cassie, made her stronger and able to stand up to Faye and Black John. If her grandmother could do this, so could she.

"Mum, I won't be long, I promise," she started. She didn't like leaving her mother alone for long these days.

"Cassie, don't be silly. Go and enjoy the day, Adam, don't let her worry about me for one second ok?"

Adam looked doubtful. "I'll try Miss Blake."

"Mum, how can I not worry?" Cassie said forcefully. It was an impossible task her mother had set her.

"It's what your grandmother would have wanted, darling."

With those final words Cassie stepped out into the cold winter day and told herself, no more dark thoughts allowed. She had been feeling happy and that's how she would stay. It had been the thought of seeing Adam that had done it, and now the thought of spending an entire day with him was enough to make her smile again.

"This is still so..." she couldn't find the words to describe it.

"Impossible?" Adam guessed. "I never even dreamed we could be like this. I didn't let myself dream it."

"It's wonderful though,"

"Amazing."

"I still don't think the coven have gotten used to it though," she tried telling herself that she didn't care about what they thought, but it wasn't true. "I just want to be accepted."

"They'll get used to the idea soon enough," Adam reassured her kindly.

The truth was, she was still worried about Diana. Diana had been so good and supportive about everything, she hadn't even cried in public, but Cassie still wondered. Diana and Adam had been through a lot together, had been together for three years. It was them who had founded the coven in the first place. If it had been Cassie, she would have been devastated. She wasn't sure she would be quite as forgiving, but that was Diana all over. She was kind and sweet, and pure. She was a vision of loveliness, with Blonde hair a colour like sunlight and moonlight woven together. She was the picture of innocence. But Cassie new there was a well of strength inside that girl, like there was inside every member of the Secret Circle. They were all so much more capable of anything they put their mind to they just hadn't known it before.

Diana's house was one of the prettier ones on Crow haven Road. Yellow in colour and in better repair, Cassie looked up at the window she knew was Diana's bedroom and smiled at the familiar sparkle of light that was the glass prisms hanging up in the window. They were meeting the rest of the Circle here, having spent Christmas day quietly with all of their families, they were now celebrating together, which meant lots more food and partying. They had done a lot of celebrating lately.

Diana let them both in with a friendly smile. "We're now just waiting for Suzan," she laughed, ushering them into the huge dining room. "Dad's agreed to keep out of the way while we eat, then we can all go upstairs or, whatever we want to do."

"Hang out like normal teenagers?" Cassie smiled back at her. "I like the idea."

"Dinner's almost ready to serve up," Laurel called from the kitchen as Adam and Cassie sat down.

"Ok," Diana called, but she was distracted by the ring of the doorbell again.

Cassie looked around at all of them, feeling very proud that they were all actually getting on well. Faye, with her mane of pitch black hair falling around her in curls, was talking to Melanie. It was a surprise to see the two of them sitting together. Melanie was the brains of the Coven, she had grey, intelligent eyes and looked as if she wore glasses when she didn't, and long dark brown hair. She wore a green top and black jeans, where as Faye wore a long jumper and leggings like Cassie, only hers was a dark red. Then there was the Henderson brother's, who were twins and dressed in their usual gothic style. They were talking to Nick.

If Cassie had been worried about Diana, she was worried about Nick too. He hadn't spoken more than a hello or goodbye with her or Adam since they had gotten together on the 10th December, and even though he had told her he knew what he was getting into with her, she wasn't so sure. Sean sat near the Doug and Chris, quiet as usual. She smiled at him, not forgetting her promise she had made herself, that she wasn't to ignore him. "Hey Sean," she waved and he smiled back. Suzan looked as lovely as ever with her blonde hair and china blue eyes, her very low cut dress looked beautiful, and she sat down by Deborah, who still had a tough aura about her, but looked more relaxed these days, full of smiles. It was good to see everybody so happy, like she was, and there didn't seem to be any sides anymore. Melanie and Laurel, Adam and herself had always been on Diana's side, Deborah and Suzan had been on Faye's. Chris and Doug, Nick and Sean had had mixed opinions. But since the big fight had gone down with Black John, all of that seemed to have changed. Although, Faye could still be awkward at times, like now.

Faye looked up at her, her honey coloured eyes sparkling with mischief. "Well, if it isn't the two love birds. Been keeping to yourself lately? Are you enjoying all the privacy?" She said this just as Diana walked into the room of course.

"Don't be a jerk, Faye," Deborah said sharply. "I thought we had gotten past all of this?"

"Its fine," Diana waved it all away. "Since she's being annoying, she can help, me serve dinner."

Everyone stared at her in shock. Sweet Diana never said anything bad about people, not even Faye. Nick raised an eyebrow at her and Diana shrugged. "What?" she said defiantly at them all. "My new year's resolution is to stop being so naive. Isn't that what you used to call me Faye? Stupid and naive and other people have said I'm too nice for my own good. This is the start of a new me people, so get used to it!"

"Not too new I hope," Cassie murmured. The thought of Diana changing at all had her scared. Was this her fault?

Diana smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to turn into a bitch. But I'm not going to be afraid to use the word either, ok? Do you understand? So, Faye, a little help please?"

The rest of the day went without incident, with laughter and spell casting and present exchanging. But Cassie couldn't help but look at Diana and worry, and she noticed that Adam and Nick were both doing the same thing.

...

Diana Meade had to take a breather. She sat on her bed, looking around her classy, yet cosy bedroom and listened to all the laughter downstairs, and tears streamed down her face. She was trying to act strong, and she thought she was doing a reasonable enough job of it, but every now and then she needed to break down. A simple little illusion spell would fix any make up issues. Cassie and Adam spent so much time together these days that she had barely spoken to Cassie, who she had said had been like her little sister. They had both always wanted sisters, so had sort of adopted each other, back in the good old days. It had been so lonely without Adam, she felt as though she had lost half of herself. She often wondered if she had a soul mate out there somewhere, and if she did, was it always an instant attraction? You instantly saw the silver cord, all the lights and everything around you, like Cassie had described? Or...could you have a soul mate and not even know about it because you never believed in it before? It was something to look into.

She missed Adam and wondered how long it would be until it stopped hurting. There was a sudden knock on the door and it made her jump. "Who is it?" she asked shakily.

"Nick," his answer was soft and with quiet concern. "You've been a long time I was just worried about you."

"It's ok, I'll be out in a minute," she said, trying to sound firm and not like she was falling apart. Nick was the sort of person who would respect your privacy and she heard, with relief, his footsteps retreating down the stairs. Ok, Diana, she thought to herself, standing up. It's time to go face the world again and be brave

Am really excited about this story, I already have lots of ideas, so once again, please let me know what you think. There will be more soon!


	2. Magic and Mayhem

Chapter Two

It was dark outside now, and the group had all retreated up to Diana's room, giving her father some space. It was hard to find room for all of them and at first seemed cramped, but now, with them all sitting in a circle of sorts, with Diana and Cassie and Deborah sitting on Diana's bed, Faye sitting on a chair at Diana's writing desk, Suzan, Laurel and Melanie, Nick and Sean, Doug and Chris on the floor, it looked kind of cosy. Candles were lit everywhere, some scented with Lavender, Rose and Vanilla.

"I have an idea," Faye said lazily. Cassie exchanged a look with Diana and knew they were both thinking the same thought. This couldn't be good at all. She looked like she had had this idea for quite a while, and had only been biding her time to mention it.

"Well?" asked Melanie impatiently. "Just what exactly is this great idea?"

"Yeah, Faye," said Chris, who sounded intrigued.

She smiled, and stood up as if to leave the room. "I'm going to show you everything and let you decide. But...I think it would be a great way to use our powers. I just have to get everything from my bag downstairs."

"I wondered what you were carrying around in that big thing," Suzan muttered

Faye was back in the room in no time at all. She took from her bag a black blanket and spread it out on the floor. Then she produced a giant crystal ball and a placed the ball on a base made of marble. It looked like it must have cost a fortune."Faye," Nick began warily, but she interrupted him.

"It's just an idea, that's all," she said lightly. "I just think we should have a little sneaky peak. It's what old time witches did right? I think it's a great way to use our powers."

"But its personal gain," Deb protested angrily. Since Faye had lied to her friends and started working with Black John, Suzan and Deborah had been very unforgiving of her since she had come back to their side, and Cassie wondered if their friendship would ever be the same again.

"Look," said Faye. "It's not some evil scheme to take over the world. And I'm not talking about our own personal future, I mean, if I found out I'd won the lottery, then great. But if I found out I'd die soon in an accident? Very creepy. So, just a general outlook of the coven to see what it is we end up doing."

"Won't we still find out if we die or not?" asked Laurel cautiously.

Faye shrugged. "You want to do great things like save nature and the world and everything. We can get ideas of how we even begin to start doing that. Because no offense but that's a big thing to start. And we pretty much are destroying things ourselves, we would need to change everyone's perspective on things. For instance, if you wanted to save a species like tigers from going extinct, how are you going to do that? By influencing all hunter's to lower their guns? Is there a spell big enough for all hunters in the world or do we invent a spell like that? And does it all start with improving relationships with the outsiders? Like Diana said?" Faye looked defiantly around the room and there wasn't much people could say against her now. She was actually far too intelligent for her own good, thought Cassie.

"We've all spent so much time celebrating that we haven't done anything constructive," Faye concluded. "So I say instead of just sitting around talking, we use the Master Tools and start doing things. And Diana," she added as an afterthought. "I thought you were all about there being a new you? Are you ready to take some risks or not?"

"Ok," Diana finally agreed. "But if it gets too much then we stop ok?"

"You shouldn't blackmail her like that," Nick said with a hard look at Faye. "Haven't you done enough of that already?"

Faye raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Since when do you play the hero Nick? And it wasn't blackmail. I was just saying. I can throw all this very expensive stuff away if you want," she looked like her feelings had been hurt.

Faye began laying smaller crystals around the crystal ball, presumably ones to heighten a clear mind, when there were no more protests, and then got up to turn out the light, candle light sparkling around them,

Diana had been keeping the Master Tools in her room, and she gave them now to Cassie. Cassie hadn't felt right about keeping them, she may have been voted leader, but in her mind, Diana would always be leader and it should have stayed that way. Sharing power with Faye was far too dangerous. Cassie put on the Tools carefully. Even though they were hundreds of years old, and had survived many a battle, she was still scared to touch them. She could feel their power instantly, like a stronger pulse than her own running through her. "Ok, hold hands everyone," she murmured.

They all started to look into the heart of the crystal, eyes glazing over and loosing focus. For Cassie, the experience of peering into the future was like being hypnotized, or what she imagined being drunk to feel like. First of all there was nothing but darkness and the occasional golden light of a candle flame. But then a mist seemed to appear, first in the crystal ball, then it seemed to spread outwards, swirling around all of them.

When the first images became clear, Cassie wondered if everyone was seeing what she was seeing. She was at a wedding, but because the point of this little exercise was not to look into their personal futures, she couldn't tell if it was any of the Circle getting married or not. She couldn't even look down to see what colour dress she was wearing, but she could see other members dotted around mingling with other guests she didn't recognise, all looking fancy. There was Suzan and Melanie and Doug and Kris.

Her heart sped up with excitement as she saw Nick and Diana and Adam talking to Sally Waltman. Sally Waltman was at the same event as Circle members. She had been on the verge of trusting them and this was very good news indeed. More images began hitting her senses, talks with the outsiders, it all seemed to begin there, but she was starting to lose her concentration and suddenly felt herself being pulled back to Diana's room.

She looked around bewildered, and found that none of the others were awake like she was. Or maybe aware was a better word to use. They were all still staring at the crystal. It was a very weird situation and she didn't like it. She wanted more than anything to shake Diana and ask for her help but she didn't dare to break the Circle, so she sat very still gripping Diana and Faye's hands tightly, wide eyed and alert for anything unnatural.

Soon she saw what she had been dreading. There, just at the edge of her vision stood the outline of a girl. As Cassie squinted, trying to get a better look she began to see more detail and a feeling of horror ran through her. It couldn't be, but it was. She didn't know why she was suddenly able to see the ghost of Kori Henderson, or what it could all possibly mean, but there she was. Cassie felt the temperature plummet and could see her breath in the air. She shivered uncontrollably as Kori stepped towards the Circle of witches. A wind erupted around her suddenly, knocking Diana's art off the walls. Cassie felt her fingers slipping from Diana's and Faye's that was when all of the candles blew out and the room was suddenly in darkness.

TBC.

Sorry for the short chapter, next one will be longer I promise. I don't really remember the description of Kori that much from the books, but I will look it up in the future so I can describe her in more detail. Hope you like it so far, please let me know in a review!


	3. In Danger

Chapter Three

In Danger

Adam Conant looked around him at the sudden chaos in Diana's bedroom. He felt bewildered and a little annoyed at being awakened from such a lovely dream. He had been at someone's wedding, and it was very hard to tell whose wedding, because the whole of the circle had been in attendance and Faye, Diana and Cassie had all been wearing the dress that they wore at circle meetings. Cassie's had been the pure white one that Diana had given her, and Diana's had been a silvery colour, and Faye's colour had been red. She had a dress exactly the same in black, he remembered, but he supposed that black wouldn't be appropriate. He guessed it was one of the three girl's wedding, Cassie, Diana or Faye and it made him think about his own future. Did he end up marrying Cassie? He supposed that it was inevitable because their love was written in the stars, but were there to be no surprises? If it was Diana's wedding, he was glad that she finally found the happiness she deserved. And Faye, well, who could picture her getting married? Did she marry an outsider? He couldn't picture that at all. Was it some other witch? Were there other witches out there? Was there anyone strong enough to deal with her?

Then he was brought sharply back to reality when he heard a scream, Diana screaming. He stood up immediately, realising that the circle had been broken. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"I don't know," Diana told him frantically, pointing to Cassie. "I woke up to find the room a mess and Cassie like this. She looks scared to death. Cassie, what's wrong? Who did this?"

Cassie blinked and looked around her. "Diana?" she murmured groggily. She tried to stand up and wobbled slightly, feeling dizzy. Adam moved forward to steady her, catching her like he always did when she fell.

"Adam," she whispered in relief. "Oh, Adam, it's awful. It's so bad, we have to fix it."

"We will Cassie," he reassured her. "I promise we will, but first you have to tell us what happened."

He helped her to sit down on Diana's bed and after a few deep breaths and a glass of water that Melanie handed her, she felt a little bit better. She looked around the Circle, her friends, whose faces bore worried and anxious expressions. She started to try and explain what had happened, but then her voice faltered when she saw Doug and Chris. Oh, god. How was she going to do this? How was she going to explain to them that their sweet little sister was back, but she wasn't the same, she was different, she was angry. She was angry at Cassie for taking her place in the Circle. And Cassie didn't know what she was going to do next. The crazy thing was that she understood how Kori was feeling. She completely understood, but she didn't know how she could make things better for Kori, so Kori could accept it and move on. She didn't know how Kori had managed to come back and she wasn't the only one who was murdered by Black John. Maybe it was because she had been a witch, who knew? But how could she explain any of this?

She was just going to have to. She had managed to deal with everything else so far, she was sure she could deal with this. She looked at the Henderson brother's. "Chris, Doug," she began shakily. "I'm so sorry,"

It was like they knew what she was thinking, what she had been through. "It's Kori, isn't it?" said Chris sadly.

"We saw her too," added Doug. "Maybe it was because we were all distracted, we weren't totally in this reality or present or whatever, but as we were coming back to ourselves we saw her."

Cassie nodded. "She's been here a while. And, you're right. Because of the spell, the trance we were in, she was able to get us to see her more clearly. But I don't know what's going to happen next. I don't know what she wants."

The twins had no answers for her. Even though she had been their sister, they didn't know what she was capable of now. Things were different now.

"Can someone tell me what the hell you're talking about?" Faye demanded. "I didn't see anything."

"I didn't see anything either," Diana began, but was interrupted by Laurel.

Laurel turned angry eyes on Faye. "You wouldn't see anything, would you? You only see things that are to do with you. It's because of you that this has happened. Because of you we almost got hurt...again. When are you going to stop this Faye? When are you just going to be normal for once and not some crazy bitch?"

These words from sweet laurel had the entire circle stunned. Faye stared at her in shock and then she slapped her. "Big words from a little mouse, how dare you say those things to me? I was doing this for the Circle, thank you very much! I didn't bring Kori here didn't you hear what Cassie said? She has been here for a while. And you all agreed to do this spell. I am trying to play this game of being nice and I don't appreciate you all judging me on past actions. At this rate, I'm starting to wish that Black John had killed you all!"

"Stop it!" Diana shouted at them both. "Stop it before you say anything else you don't mean. Laurel, that was out of line. We did all agree with Faye to do the spell. This is all of our faults. And Faye, I know you didn't mean that about Black John. But this behaviour isn't appropriate!" She gestured at Chris and Doug who were watching events, and being strangely quiet. It was strange for Doug anyway.

Faye stood up anger still flashing in her eyes. "I mean whatever I say Diana. I'm sick of all this bullshit. I'm trying to change, I've apologised and apologised to both you and Cassie, and I don't know what else you want from me. None of this is my fault, and what happens after this isn't my fault. And if you need my help again, you're not getting anything. I'm done." She stood up and packed her things away, and walked out of the room slamming the door loudly. Laurel looked rightly ashamed and had tears in her eyes. "I'm just angry," she said to them all in her defence. "I'm just scared and angry and confused...after everything we've been through I thought we were past all the trouble and now this. I just snapped that's all. I didn't mean it. I should go after her."

"She'd probably slap you again," said Deborah with a sigh. "It's ok, Laurel. Let me talk to her and then in a couple of days you can apologise and she'll get over it."

"We're going to need her," said Diana, sounding tired. "All of us at some point are going to need her. You should say sorry Laurel."

Laurel nodded. "I know. But Deb are you sure she'll listen to you? You're not as close as you were."

"I just think Laurel was saying things that needed to be said," said Nick coldly. "I wish I had said it to her before after what she's done."

"But none of that is the point," said Cassie. "She was right. What's done is done and in the past. The point is that we have a situation now, with Kori. And I don't know how we're going to deal with it. She needs to know what's past it past too, and that we're sorrier than she will ever know about what happened to her and we wish we could change it but we can't."

"Maybe we can change it," said Doug thoughtfully. "Maybe we can bring her back. I'm sure there's a spell somewhere and now we have the Master Tools,"

"No Doug," said Melanie quietly. "That's not the way. We don't know what Kori would come back as. She would be something darker than she is now. It would be worse than what she's going through now."

"And that's not what the Master Tools are for," said Nick unexpectedly.

"Just an idea," murmured Chris.

Everyone was quiet for a minute. "An idea for us to forget about," said Diana finally. "I know how much you miss her. We all miss her, but Melanie's right. That's not the way."

"What do we know about ghosts?" Adam asked the group.

"Well, I thought that they could only be called up on Halloween, like when we called up Black John's ghost?" asked Cassie, confused. Although she was still so new to the craft that she still felt bewildered by it all sometimes.

"That's the general idea," said Nick. "But they're around us all the time. A ghost is someone who cannot move over to the other side where ever that is, heaven or hell. They can't accept their death as a fact so they're stuck here. Most humans can't see them. They can sense them sometimes, some humans are gifted with the sight and this is how we get claims of haunted places or buildings. We had to use all our power to control black John and because we are witches and it was Halloween night, that's how come it was so easy to see him, so easy to call him up. With Kori, we can't see her all the time, because maybe you can only properly see a ghost on Halloween. Unless you're gifted. We may be witches, but none of us have that power, thank God. And we could only see her tonight because we're distracted."

"So you mean Jeffery and our old principle could be wandering around right now, because they were murdered?" asked Suzan in horror. "And Kori can only get through to us because she's a witch?"

"It's possible," Nick answered her. "It's possible she wouldn't know about the other two victims because she's so intent on her own purpose, and because they would all be in denial maybe they wouldn't see each other anyway. Or if they did they would think they are all still alive and human."

"Like in sixth sense," murmured Chris, trying to see the humour in it and failing.

"So how do we communicate with her?" Cassie asked. "How can we make her see reason? We can't wait until next Halloween, Can we?"

Nick looked away from her, out of the window. "You may never be able to."

"How do you know so much about this anyway?" asked Suzan, bringing up a good point.

"I looked into things when my mum and dad died," he said simply.

No one had anything to say to that. "Well, it's been a long day, I think we should call it a night," Diana told them all, standing up.

"I'll walk you home," said Adam, taking her hand. Cassie noticed Diana looking away from the hand holding, and knew she had been right about her friend not being totally over things. They would have to have a talk soon.

"Interesting night," Adam observed once they were outside.

"I know. I feel so bad for Chris and Doug. As if they haven't been through enough. But Adam, I was wondering, about the future..."

They were suddenly interrupted by a scream that seemed to last a long time. "Adam," Cassie breathed.

He was already ahead of her. Faye hadn't left that long ago, and if anything happened to her it would be their fault for not checking on her. But how could Kori, even if she were a ghost make Faye scream like that? Faye was one of the strongest people Cassie knew. She knew they had to hurry, and she started to run after Adam.

...

Faye Chamberlain had left Diana's house in a fuming rage, her high heels clicking fiercely on the pavement, the sound echoing around her in the quiet night. How dare they all judge her like that? She had been the perfect example of goodness for the last month, she hadn't even asked to look after the Master Tools once, even though she was itching to look at them and see the true extent of their power. Not for any evil purposes, just ones to benefit her. She had only said that crap about no personal gain to please Cassie and Diana; she had been desperate to see how her on future turned out, to see if she ever made it and became someone important, if she ever escaped from this place. Maybe she was a famous actor or singer, or she was in theatre. Lawyers and Doctors were all very important too, and she could save lives if she wanted, she really could, but she didn't know if she had the patience for the long years of studying, or if she was even that sort of person. She knew it was what her mother waned for her, but her mother was in bed most of the time with hangovers and nightmares of the past. She did not want to end up like that.

She was suddenly aware that the night had grown very cold, even colder than it usually was in winter time. The street light above her head suddenly exploded and went out, and then the one behind her and the one in front of her exploded at the same time and she was plunged into darkness. She could see her breath and she started to shiver uncontrollably. "Kori?" she whispered. There was a sudden sharp pain in her head and it made her fall to the ground, screaming. "No, Kori stop it! Leave me alone I didn't do anything."

It felt like something was invading her, and now she knew how Sean must have felt when Black John had taken control of his mind. Kori was trying to posses her, take her over. Well, she wasn't having that.

_I'm more like you then any of the circle thought,_ Kori's voice in her mind, trying to scare her. Well, it was working, and not many things scared her. _You wanted me on your side, well here I am. This is my chance at being part of the Circle, finally, like I was always supposed to._

_Not by being me!_ She shouted back angrily. _There can only be one of me, now leave me alone! _With all her will power she had left, she reached up and touched the powerful star ruby crystal necklace that she always wore, and started to chant. "Power of fire have I over thee, Power of fire have I over thee."

"Faye!" she heard Cassie and Adam, they seemed so very far away, but she managed to look up at them all the same.

It seemed their very presence was enough. With one last shout of the chant she felt Kori leaving her mind before she had had a chance to get a firm hold, a vision of a barrier of bright orange and gold flames circled her, protecting her and then with a shimmer they vanished. She stood up looking proud and strong, a true witch.

She turned to face Cassie and Adam with a grim smile. "What was that?" Adam exclaimed.

"I'm protected now," Faye told them. "I was stronger than she is, but she isn't done yet. She's going to try and find the weakest person to posses. We all have to be ready to face her."

Cassie nodded. "Do you think she'll try again tonight?"

Faye shook her head, not knowing how she knew these things, she just did. "I think we have some time. I think she's used up some of her power trying to get at me."

Cassie looked impressed. "I don't know why she even thought she could try and mess with you. I'm sorry about earlier Faye. We all are."

Faye's smile faltered a little and she looked upset, but then she seemed to come back to herself. "It's ok Cass. I guess old habits die hard don't they? See you around."

"So Kori's not in denial any more, she's just pissed. We're going to get through this aren't we?" she whispered.

"If Faye can, I'm sure we can," he tried to reassure her. But she knew they were both thinking the same thing, not all of them were as strong as Faye was

TBC

It's always nice to know what you think, so please leave me a review telling me, good or bad. Thanks for all the reviews so far! By the way I know that sixth sense movie was maybe after the Secret Circle was written but I had to put it in somewhere lol, so I did. Also, I hope all the ghost information made sense, and I'm trying not to have any mistakes in this with stuff like that, but I'm sure there are some somewhere, I just hope I explained it alright. Hope you enjoyed


	4. Moving On

Chapter Four

Moving On

January was a cold and bitter month, with seemingly no end to it. She tried to listen to her father's advice, it was a time to reflect on past mistakes and look forward to a brighter future, but she just couldn't see it. Diana sat in the little window seat of the big bay window in her bedroom, a place she seemed to spend most of her time these days, it was quite depressing really. She glanced up from her Book of Shadows and felt her heart shatter again into a thousand pieces as she saw Adam and Cassie walking down the road on yet another date. It seemed like every time her heart and soul came close to healing, it broke again and she was getting sick of it.

It was like she was looking for heartache though. She would sit at this window and watch them drive off into the sunset or walk hand in hand towards the beach, to the scene of their first kiss no doubt, and she shouldn't do this to herself but it was like she was addicted to watching out for them. She looked down onto the page she had been looking at and blinked away yet more tears. Could she really do this spell? After their last attempt at magic she didn't think it was a good idea, and she should listen to her instincts. But these instincts belonged to the old her, and she was trying to be a new, carefree Diana who was more open to ideas other people would think were a bad idea, more like Faye. Faye didn't let her heart get broken. Faye wouldn't let anyone see her behaving like this, because Faye wouldn't behave like this. Faye was stronger than all of them and she had proved that when she had stopped Kori from invading her mind. Diana needed to be strong like that too.

_You don't need time to heal old wounds,_ she read. _To heal a broken heart and to build a wall around your soul to guard you from pain and emotional weaknesses. _

Would that make her not feel emotions? Is that what it meant? But emotion was a part of what made you human. It would be good to be numb right now though, completely void of any thought or memory. Every time she thought of Adam or dreamed about him it was like a knife stabbing her in the back. She did truly want happiness for both of them but this was killing her feeling like this behind everyone's back, a feeling of betrayal she couldn't help but feel it was confusing her so much. Maybe if she just had someone to talk to.

A soft and quiet knock on her door made her smile slightly and she shut the Book of Shadows quickly. "Nick?" she called out expectantly.

Nick peered round the door cautiously. "Your dad let me in is that ok?"

"Of course," she laughed at his worried expression. "Nick, I'm fine."

"Oh, really? So...you're not watching Blake and Conant from your window all mournfully like I caught you doing last time?"

"I'm that obvious huh?" she sighed. Nick had been coming over a lot since Christmas and he had no idea of how he was truly helping her. It may not seem like it, but he was. More so than Laurel and Melanie, and they were her best friends. Nick knew what she was going through, because he had been through it with Cassie. They may not have been together as long as she had been with Adam, but Cassie had been the first girl he had showed an interest in deeply like that.

"You're a true friend Nick," she said finally. "I'm glad you still want to come round and talk, that I'm not boring you."

His voice was strangely quiet. "You could never bore me, Diana." The intensity in his voice startled her but she brushed it away, not thinking too much about it.

"So what are we going to do today?" he asked her casually.

"Well, there haven't been any attacks since the one on Faye," She answered, trying to get her voice to sound not at all worried. "Thank God. It must have taken a lot of Kori's strength to even try that. But it must be soon that she attacks again and we need to know who it is she will try to posses again."

"I want to know why she would even go after Faye in the first place?" Nick wondered.

"Pretty stupid idea, I have to admit it," Diana agreed. "Maybe she was the first person to be alone out of all of us, and now that Kori is strong enough to try this plan of hers, it was too good an opportunity for her to miss. Melanie, Laurel and I have been looking into protection spells, and crystals to wear. Obviously Amethyst crystal didn't work that well when we tried to guard ourselves against Black John, so we need something stronger."

"That's good work so far." Nick said thoughtfully, but he seemed distracted "Diana, I've been meaning to talk to you. About that spell we cast last month."

"I'm trying to forget about it," she murmured. "The first spell we cast as a coven, with the Master Tools and it's a disaster. Wait, that's the old me again isn't it? I don't care that it went wrong, I just...what?"

"What did you see?"

She stared at him in surprise. "I saw...we were at a wedding."

"Right," he murmured. "But because it wasn't for personal gain we couldn't tell whose wedding it was. I was just curious I guess. I know knowing too much about your own future is dangerous but, it would be nice to know I'm in a secure and happy place that's all. At least we all make it through this right?"

She shook her head. "What we saw could easily change. That's something that could happen, if we let it happen. But things could still change; we can still die before then. That's the way that I see it. I know I'm being morbid but, I just can't hope for that yet until we get through this. I can't count on it." There was a brief silence. "It was probably Cassie and Adam's wedding anyway. She was wearing white; I couldn't see what I was wearing."

He smiled. "You were wearing silver. Like a copy of the silver dress Cassie wears at Meetings. And who says you have to wear white at a wedding anyway?" his voice was hinting at something but she tried to ignore what it could be.

"I'm the least likely person to even think about getting married," she exclaimed.

"Let's do something normal today," he said suddenly, standing up. "Let's go for a walk or, see a movie. Have a meal. We've been hanging out a lot but I think it's time to go face the world."

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean like a date do you? Cos, I don't think I'm any were near ready to be dating, Nick and..."

"We don't need to put a label on it," he said, although she could see the hurt in his eyes, then a soft understanding. "its just a friend thing, I promise," he held out his hand to help her stand up and a tingling feeling shot through her, making her blush. She wasn't ready to start dating. But Adam had already moved on, so maybe she should too. But she didn't want to hurt Nick, didn't want him to think he was a rebound, and she didn't want to be one either, for him. But it was something interesting to think about, for the future.

TBC

Don't have much time to write again, so thought I would write a short and sweet Diana and Nick chapter. More action next chapter, please let me know what you think, I love all reviews.


	5. A little bit closer

Chapter Five

Cassie lay in her bed, rain pouring against the window, but so far no thunder or lightening. She sighed, feeling restless and impatient. She felt like she was waiting for something to happen and it just wasn't. Maybe she wasn't just talking about the weather either. Kori had been oddly quiet the past month. There had been a few rumblings around town with the locals telling stories and the kids at school had been talking too. Things were moving around by themselves, words being written on blackboards at school in chalk, by themselves. Tap water had been turned black on a number of occasions and had been boiling. Stuff like that, but nothing they couldn't handle, being witches. Melanie had come up with a stronger talisman against possession than one they had used last year. She was wearing it now in the form of a ring. They had gone through a number of different possibilities, Obsidian protected against negativity for instance. But in the end, Diana had special Ruby rings made for the entire Circle, even the guys. It was said that a ruby crystal is the most powerful crystal in the universe, and has many abilities, protection being one of the main ones. It had cost a small fortune but luckily Faye's mum had given permission. Faye had just come out and told her the truth in the end, it seemed.

Cassie looked down at her ring now and thought it was lucky that it seemed to be working against Kori for the moment. But she didn't want to always have to have this ring on her finger. She had to find away to make Kori cross over to the other side. And since this was her fault to start with, she should be the one to do it. The question was how?

Adam came back soon enough, he had had to let Raj outside and Cassie smiled gratefully at him when he gave her a drink and some much needed snacks. "So, what film are we going to watch?" she asked him playfully. He shrugged and lay back with a teasing expression on his face. "I won't even be concentrating on it anyway," he laughed at her expression.

"Adam, is sex all you ever think about?" she wacked him playfully on the arm.

"Don't tell me you don't think about it?"

"Yes, but,"

"I know, all the drama going on lately. But...we have to enjoy ourselves sometime. I mean come on; we just defeated the most evil witch of all time. We should live a little. And we should also stop worrying about everyone else."

She sighed and looked out the window. "I know. Diana's a big girl and she can make her own decisions, but,"

"But nothing. She wants us to be happy. So we should be happy." He leaned forward and brushed hair from her eyes and kissed her softly. All thoughts vanished from her mind then and she let her concentration focus on one thing and one thing only, and that was Adam. All she could sense was him and it was driving her crazy. She pressed herself as close to him as possible, wrapping her arms around him, not caring for the things falling off the bed as they lay down. A laugh escaped her as she sat up, looking down at him and she began to pull off her top and then his. As things began to get very heated, in the excitement and passion of the moment, she didn't notice the ruby ring silently slipping from her finger and falling onto the floor.

...

When Cassie finally opened her eyes the rain had stopped. She rolled over and turned the light on, having no idea what time it was. "Adam," she whispered, nudging him slightly. He groaned and lifted his head off the pillow. "Cassie?" She smiled down at him, letting the memories of her first time wash back over her. It had been perfect and special, and he had been brilliant at making her feel comfortable, not nervous at all. "I take it you're staying over tonight then?"

"Yep, looks like," he grinned at her.

"Well, you should probably..." Cassie suddenly felt hot, very hot. In fact, it was like she had a fever, and she was starting to see double, her vision blurring.

"Cassie, what's wrong?" his eyes narrowed in concern and he sat up with her.

Cassie rolled her eyes and stood up, pulling on her top and jeans she had been wearing. "I was going to say you'd better call your aunt and let her know where you are. How boring is that? You don't want your girlfriend to be boring do you?"

He sat up and reached for his own top and boxers. "Cassie, I would never think that you're boring."

"Well, that's great Adam, really great. But what just happened...I've got better things to do with my time then sit around in a house all day. I should be out there in the world and living it. Partying and getting into trouble. All the things I never got to experience. And if I'm going to be stuck like this I really don't want to be tied down."

"You're not Cassie," he said with sudden understanding.

"You know, it's not that the sex wouldn't be great, if I ever get to experience it that is, we could be friends with benefits. Like Nick and Diana! Don't worry, it was all Cassie during that sickly sweet moment you guys just shared, I wouldn't be that rude. But...it did give me the perfect opportunity. So by, I'm off to start living my life the way I was meant to in the first place."

She turned and left the room, leaving Adam in shock, but only for a second. He was instantly up and running after her. Just as she was about to run out of the front door, he finally managed to stop her. Puddles of rain water still lay on the ground outside, and using his powers he made a wall of water rise up in front of her, making her stop in her tracks. She whirled around, very angry indeed.

"Nice trick Adam. But I am stronger than you," as he was advancing on her she pushed against his chest with supernatural strength made him fly through the air and crash into the opposite wall. He felt slightly dizzy but forced himself to stay conscious. He had to get to Cassie. She had turned around again; trying to find a way through the barrier of water, because he hadn't been knocked out it hadn't disappeared. "Looks like you're not as strong as you thought, Kori. And I'm older than you were, makes me stronger." Finally he reached her; she had heard what he said and she started to turn round, even angrier than before. "I'm sorry, so sorry," he murmured, before hitting her hard on the head, making her fall to the ground. "You're not taking Cassie," he knelt over his girlfriend, feeling strange that it looked like Cassie but wasn't, and shoved the Ruby ring quickly back on her finger. He could feel Kori's presence leaving Cassie and she sat up looking bewildered.

"Adam? What happened?"

He held her close to him and thanked God he had managed to save her. ""It was my fault. I distracted you and the ring fell off. We should have been more careful."

He helped her up slowly. "Adam, it was my decision too, and I don't regret anything. I'm lucky you were here in the first place to save me, my white knight."

He laughed bitterly. "Hardly."

"I'm ok really," She kissed him firmly, willing him to believe it. "It's not your fault."

Adam just looked at her thinking how lucky he was to have her. "Maybe we should have another meeting?"

"I think that's a good idea. I'll ring Diana in the morning and set it up. I think we should get some sleep though."

"You sure you don't need a hospital? You could have a concussion."

"So could you!" she gave him a hug, hoping to make him feel better. "We're witches. I'm sure we'll be fine."

They went back up the stairs and climbed into bed, this time letting Raj stand watch over them, it seemed animals were good at sensing danger, better than humans anyway, and they slowly drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

Not much time to write again but am getting there slowly! Another chapter will be coming soon, hopefully by the weekend.


	6. Weakness

Chapter Six

Weakness

It was another meeting and emotions were running high. Cassie, Faye and Diana sat together at the front of the Circle, looking very serious. But although the situation was grave indeed, Cassie had an inner smile that wouldn't go away. She had been sneaking glances at Adam and he would meet her eyes and she could tell he was thinking about last night too. Not about the danger and the fact that she had almost been killed, although it had shocked her a lot. But about everything else that had happened between them. She kept replaying it all in her mind and it was making her lose her concentration.

"So, there have been attacks on two of the Coven leaders?" asked Sean, his eyes wide with fear. "What does that mean?"

"I guess it means that Kori doesn't want to be just anyone," Cassie spoke up at last. "I don't know why she would want to be Faye, if only because it was mostly because of me that she was killed. I think her main plan was to be me and take over my life. But maybe,"

"With me she was testing her powers," Faye continued, almost sounding amused. "But I was too strong for her. Obviously these rings are working but some people were really stupid and careless and,"

"We get it Faye," Adam snapped at her. "We get it. It won't happen again. That's all an explanation that you need."

Faye smiled her little cat like smile at him and gave him a wink. "I think we all know why you guys were so distracted though right? It doesn't take much working out, does it Diana."

"No," Diana looked back at her cousin coldly. "It doesn't. But it's really none of our business Faye so just drop it."

"So the only plan that we have is to keep wearing the rings," said Melanie. "But we still know that Kori is out there causing trouble. What can we do to stop her? Now that we have a barrier against her, how do we actually banish her?"

Cassie threw a glance towards Chris and Dough who were looking decidedly not happy at the thought of banishing kori. "She's our sister," Dough said finally. "I think that we should be the ones to deal with this. We can convince her to go into the light."

"Are you so sure?" asked Melanie, frowning a little bit.

"We haven't really had the chance to talk to her," said Chris. "Maybe we can hold a séance, or use an Ouija board?"

"I think I have one of those in my attic," Faye told them all, sounding bored. "But the reason we haven't had a chance to talk to Miss wants to be one of us is because she's been so busy being angry at all of us and blaming us and trying to kill us, let me remind you. She's not your angelic sister anymore. She's something else now."

"Faye, that's enough," Diana said warningly to her cousin. "The reason you are Coven leader with Cassie and I is because we didn't think that the vote could be changed. But you had better start acting like a leader and like you care about your coven, or I will consider damning all rules and traditions to hell and un-voting you!"

There was a stunned silence, but Faye seemed un fazed by it all. "You can't all keep threatening me cousin. It won't work because you need me for us to be able to get anything done. I'm the only one with a spirit board and I hear they're very expensive, and we already shelled out a load for these rings. So it's time you all learned that I'm not going anywhere and I'm here to stay, you'd better learn to like that little fact."

"Guys, working together, remember?" Cassie said softly. "It's the only way we'll get anything done. So, since it's not Halloween, which would be the perfect time to do what we need, when's the next perfect moment to talk to the dead?"

"Midnight?" Laurel suggested. "The hour between night and the next day would be good; it would be when the barriers between our world and that of the dead are weakest. Not as weak as on Halloween, but still just as good as."

Cassie nodded. "But what day? Maybe we should wait a while until she's calmed down again?"

"I think we should take this fight to her," said Nick, standing up. "Diana? We're going to be late to that restaurant."

Diana blinked. It was the first time he had mentioned their little arrangement in front of the group, and he certainly hadn't discussed it with her. "Right, we should get going," she could see the rest of the group looking at each other in amazement and Faye had a look of sudden wrath on her face. "I think that Midnight would be the perfect time to try and talk to Kori. And also," she said, almost as an afterthought, "There's a wiccan holiday coming up on February 2nd called Imbolc that I think we should celebrate."

Laurel smiled in interested. "Yes, I agree. It's the holiday that celebrates the first signs of spring, a time of renewal when there is new life everywhere and the first sowing of the seeds begins. Between now and the spring equinox it's a time to celebrate the Maiden. Maybe it would be a good time to help Kori reflect on things, if we haven't got through to her by then, maybe a ceremony on that day will help her find peace."

When Nick and Diana were away from the group she turned on Nick, ready to unleash her thoughts on him, but Faye beat her to it.

"Nicely done Di," Faye said spitefully. "Rebounding on the first available guy in the area, Nick, you must feel so special."

Nick growled at her in frustration. "Faye," he told her firmly, hoping to get through to her. "Our arrangement didn't work ok? We're over and nothing is ever going to happen between us again, so you better get used to it."

There was a silence and Faye walked away, giving up, for now. Whatever Diana had had to say she couldn't remember because her mind had gone blank. "You and Faye?" she whispered.

Nick sighed. "It was a few years ago. Nothing actually happened, happened between us, we just kissed a few times that's all. But now she thinks she owns me. It's why she was so upset about me and Cassie, or me and any girl. I told her it was a mistake and she couldn't handle it."

Diana nodded. She supposed she shouldn't be surprised at all, everyone knew that they had had something going on, no one knew what exactly. Just one day Faye and Nick had been at each other's throats all the time and no one knew why, but it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. Suddenly she didn't feel angry anymore. Secrets were bad anyway, weren't they? Maybe it was about time the Circle knew what was going on between them. They were a different Circle now and they shared things, didn't they? She looked at Nick as they walked to her car. She didn't think this felt like it was a rebound, she didn't see it that way. She did miss Adam, everyday. But Nick made her feel better about herself, made her see the world in a different way. Surely that was a good thing. And they had been together a little while now and it felt really good. That had to mean something.

Why was everything so confusing?

_Because you think you're getting better when you're not. These rings only work if you have an inner strength to make them work; they only protect you if you want to be protected. And you're losing the fight, Diana. In reality, you've lost everything familiar to you, everything that made you strong and now even with Nick you don't feel safe, because you don't trust him, yourself or anyone. You think that if Cassie and Adam could betray you like they have, then any of your friends could betray and hurt you. That's not a good way to feel at all is it?_

The words sounded like they were her thoughts, but they weren't. She knew that, but she had already started to listen to them instead of blocking them out like she should have.

_It would be so much easier not to feel anything, Diana. You wouldn't have to deal with looking at them every day, you wouldn't have to deal with the uncertainty of wondering if you truly could love Nick or if you'd end up hurting him, or deal with Faye's jealousy anymore. I would be dealing with it. You should just give in to me Diana. Let me deal with everything._

Diana was feeling dizzy and out of focus. Why was this happening? Was she really so weak that she couldn't last until the ceremonies they were planning? Could she really not deal with everything that much? She feebly attempted to push the voice in her head away, but she found that her own voice was merely a whisper. "Nick, help," she found herself trying to call out to him, but he didn't hear her.

For a moment she thought she was going to fall, but then she didn't feel anything at all, and could only here Kori's laughter at how much she had failed.

TBC

Sorry for the delay! Hopefully another chapter will be up before Christmas. Please read and review and let me know what you think! Just so you know I'm hoping to wrap the Kori thing up pretty quickly but this story will be based over a year so I can include all the Wiccan holidays!


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